Was Miss Jamaica robbed? Colombian crowned Miss Universe but decision causes uproar as Caribbean contestant is praised for her poise, honest answers – and pixie haircut

Miss Colombia Paulina Vega was crowned Miss Universe on Sunday, but it was her fourth runner up, Miss Jamaica, who immediately began trending on social media.

When 22-year-old Kaci Fennell from Kingston, a favourite to win ahead of the Miss Universe final, had to leave the stage, the Miami audience erupted in an unprecedented booing.

Miss Fennell had gained a large following throughout the competition with her striking beauty, confidence, and unconventional style, wearing her hair in a Halle Berry-esque pixie cut instead of the traditional long pageant waves.  

After beating competition from USA, Netherlands, Jamaica and Ukraine, Miss Colombia Paulina Vega became Miss Universe 2015

And the winner is: After beating out stiff competition from USA, Netherlands, Jamaica and Ukraine, Miss Colombia Paulina Vega became Miss Universe 2015, but some seemed to think it was Jamaica who deserved the crown

Miss Jamaica appears on stage and eventually finished fourth runner up in the pageant

Robbed? Miss Jamaica’s striking good looks and unmistakable poise have left Miss Universe pageant viewers saying the 22-year-old was robbed after being named fourth runner-up

Too honest: Kaci Fennell called Bob Marley and Usain Bolt the greatest contributions her country has given the world--an unlikely answer in the minds of some, but others saw honesty in her answer that other contestants would be afraid to show

Too honest: Kaci Fennell called Bob Marley and Usain Bolt the greatest contributions her country has given the world–an unlikely answer in the minds of some, but others saw honesty in her answer that other contestants would be afraid to show

Fennell

Fennell in national costume

 

Booed in support: Fennell, at right in the national costume competition and in her evening wear at left, received a major compliment from the Florida audience when they booed her being named fourth runner-up

Shortly after Miss Fennell had been awarded fifth place in the 63rd annual pageant, her name began trending on Twitter along with the hashtag #MissJamaicaShouldHaveWon.

Fans claim Miss Fennell was denied the title after she proudly called Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest short-distance runner, and reggae-king Bob Marley her country’s greatest contributions to the world.

Her non-traditional answers along with her pixie cut and Caribbean confidence, allegedly contributed to her not placing higher in the final, her fans say. 

Winning competitor Miss Vega is from Barranquilla, Colombia and is studying business administration. She said the contests leading to MIss Universe were the first she’d participated in and will be her last as she’s eager to return to her studies in business administration.

The 22-year-old is the granddaughter of a legendary tenor, Gastón Vega.

Earlier this week she said, ‘It will be a dream come true to represent the woman of today. A woman that not only care about being beautiful and being glamorous, but also cares about being a professional, intelligent, hard-working person.’

Miss USA and Miss Colombia were among the top five finalists in the running to be crowned Miss Universe in Sunday’s pageant in Miami.

Hot topic: Fans of Miss Jamaica immediately took to Twitter and helped to make her a trending topic even more popular than Miss Universe herself

Hot topic: Fans of Miss Jamaica immediately took to Twitter and helped to make her a trending topic even more popular than Miss Universe herself

Miss Colombia Vega was crowned Miss Universe 2014 by Miss Universe 2013 Gabriela Isler during the 63rd Annual Miss Universe Pageant

Previous winners: Miss Colombia Paulina Vega was crowned Miss Universe 2014 by Miss Universe 2013 Gabriela Isler during the 63rd Annual MISS UNIVERSE Pageant

Paulina Vega

Paulina Vega

 

Miss Colombia Paulina Vega (left and right) competes onstage during the evening gown competition in which she wore an eye-catching sequined hip-hugging gown

Here she is...:Meet Miss Universe 2015, the beautiful brunette from Colombia, Pauline Vega dressed here in her national costume

Here she is…:Meet Miss Universe 2015, the beautiful brunette from Colombia, Pauline Vega dressed here in her national costume

And both were picked to be the competitions top two beauties. But it was the comely brunette from South American who took the crown.

Meet Miss Colombia Paulina Vega, the Miss Universe 2015 winner. 

First runner-up was Nevada resident Miss USA Nia Sanchez. Coming in third was second runner-up Miss Ukraine Diana Harkusha. 

Miss Netherlands took the fourth spot as third runner up.

The first beauty eliminated from the top 5 was Miss Jamaica whose departure brought loud and unmistakable boos from the international audience.

All top five finalists had been individually serenaded with a song by singer Gavin DeGraw in the moments leading up to the big reveal.

The other finalists chosen from among the 88 contestants were Miss Jamaica Kaci Fennell, Miss Ukraine Diana Harkusha and Miss Netherlands Yasmin Verheijen.

The top five finalists:  Miss Colombia Paulina Vega; Miss Jamaica Kaci Fennell;Miss Ukraine  Diana Harkusha; Miss Netherlands Yasmin Verheijen; and Miss USA Nia Sanchez

The top five finalists: Miss Colombia Paulina Vega; Miss Jamaica Kaci Fennell;Miss Ukraine Diana Harkusha; Miss Netherlands Yasmin Verheijen; and Miss USA Nia Sanchez

Vega said the contests leading to Miss Universe were the first she'd participated in and will be her last as she's eager to return to studying

Beauty with brains: Vega is from Barranquilla, Colombia and is studying business administration. She said the contests leading to Miss Universe were the first she’d participated in and will be her last as she’s eager to return to her studies in business administration

Miss USA Nia Sanchez strutted her stuff to become one of the top five finalists at the 2015 Miss Universe competition

 

First runner-up: Miss USA Nia Sanchez strutted her stuff to become one of the top five finalists at the 2015 Miss Universe competition held in Florida on Sunday

Miss Netherlands Yasmin Verheijen

Miss Ukraine Diana Harkusha

 

Evening look: Miss Ukraine Diana Harkusha, one of the top 5 finalists, flaunts her evening gown expertise in the 63rd Annual MISS UNIVERSE Pageant at Florida International University on Sunday. Her felow top 5 finalist, Miss Netherlands Yasmin Verheijen poses in her evening look at left

Sanchez, 24, said she was looking forward to the often-dreaded interview portion. She has been running practice questions all week with her roommate Miss Australia Tegan Martin, who made it to the top ten.

Sanchez, a Nevada resident, has a fourth-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and has traveled the country teaching others. She spoke about equipping women to defend themselves against crime.

‘It’s just something that’s so prevalent in our society and why not empower women to take control of a dangerous situation into their own hand,’ she said.

Miss Colombia Paulina Vega said she was thrilled to still be in the running as the night wore on. 

Big show: Today Show personality Natalie Morales was hosting the show. And before Miss Universe, Gabriela Isler of Venezuela, crowned the next winner, viewers were to hear performances from singers Nick Jonas and Prince Royce

Big show: Today Show personality Natalie Morales was hosting the show. And before Miss Universe, Gabriela Isler of Venezuela, crowned the next winner, viewers were to hear performances from singers Nick Jonas and Prince Royce

Strike a pose: Contestants including Miss India, Nigeria, Lebanon and Lithuania pose on stage during the 63rd Annual MISS UNIVERSE Pageant at Florida International University on January 25

Strike a pose: Contestants including Miss India, Nigeria, Lebanon and Lithuania pose on stage during the 63rd Annual MISS UNIVERSE Pageant at Florida International University on January 25

‘It will be a dream come true to represent the woman of today. A woman that not only care about being beautiful and being glamorous, but also cares about being a professional, intelligent, hard-working person,’ she said. 

‘Today Show’ personality Natalie Morales was hosting the show. And before Miss Universe, Gabriela Isler of Venezuela, crowned the next winner, viewers were to hear performances from singers Nick Jonas and Prince Royce.

Miss Jamaica Kaci Fennell has stood out during the competition with her short, spiky haircut.

Nick Jonas performs onstage among contestants during the evening gown competition

Nick Jonas performs onstage among contestants during the evening gown competition

Jonas was among many celebrity guest performers, including singer Gaven Degraw

Jonas was among many celebrity guest performers, including singer Gaven Degraw

‘I don’t have long tresses like everyone else, I’m just representing myself and that’s what beauty pageants are all about,’ said Fennell, who wore a long, red beaded evening gown. ‘You don’t have to look a certain way … and I feel like I represent that.’

Crowd favorite Miss Venezuela Migbelis Lynette Castellanos was cut after the top ten. She had tremendous support and pressure locally and back home. The Miami suburb of Doral, which is hosting the women during their stay, is also known as ‘Doralzuela’ for its many Venezuelan residents. Three of the last six Miss Universe titles have gone to Venezuela, where beauty pageants are big business.

DID A MISS UNIVERSE COMPETITION SPARK AN INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT? ISRAEL + LEBANON = OUTRAGE

Explosive confrontations are nothing new for Israel and Lebanon, but the latest spat between the longtime foes is perhaps the first to have been caused by an alleged photo-bomb.

A seemingly innocuous selfie at the Miss Universe pageant in Miami has sparked criticism in Lebanon because it featured a smiling Miss Lebanon alongside Miss Israel. The Israeli beauty queen, Doron Matalon, posted a picture of herself with colleagues from Japan, Slovenia and Lebanon on her Instagram account. The result? A formal Lebanese investigation into the scandal.

Lebanese Tourism Minister Michel Pharon told The Associated Press that ‘if there was bad intentions’ from Saly Greige, measures could be taken against her. In her defense, Miss Lebanon says she was photo-bombed.

Matalon said the joint photo was genuine and was saddened that Greige was under fire at home.

‘I hope for change and I hope for peace between us, and even just for three weeks, just between me and her,’ she told NBC News. ‘We need to remember that we represent the country and the people, not the government and not the political issues.’

Under fire from critics angered by her fraternizing with the enemy, Greige took to Facebook to defend herself.

‘The truth behind the photo: Since the first day of my arrival to participate to Miss Universe, I was very cautious to avoid being in any photo or communication with Miss Israel (that tried several times to have a photo with me),’ she wrote. ‘Suddenly Miss Israel jumped in, took a selfie, and put it on her social media.’

In a statement, the Miss Universe Organization said ‘it is unfortunate to know a photo of four smiling women from different parts of the world, working together at an event, could be misconstrued as anything other than what it is, a celebration of universal friendship.’

Neither Miss Israel nor Miss Lebanon made it to the competition's final round

Neither Miss Israel nor Miss Lebanon made it to the competition’s final round